For this installation of Famous Homes, we need look no further than our own backyard. Here in Northern California, we have a beautiful country house located in Woodside, nestled between the San Jose and San Francisco metro areas.
Known as the Bourn-Roth Estate, the home sits among 16 acres of formal gardens surrounded by a 654-acre estate. Designed for William Bowers Bourn II, the owner of one of California's wealthiest gold mines and president of the Spring Valley Water Company, which provided water to San Francisco, and his wife, Agnes Moody Bourn, this impressive residence was crafted by San Francisco architect Willis Polk. Spanning 54,256 square feet, the house features 56 rooms, including a ballroom, a reception room, a dining room, cozy family spaces, and servants' quarters. The structure was built between 1915 and 1917 and the estate's name is an acronym created by combining the first two letters of the key phrases from William Bourn's credo: "Fight for a just cause; Love your fellow man; Live a good life."
From 1917 to 1936, the Bourns used Filoli as a country house when they wanted to getaway from their main residence in San Francisco. After William and Agnes Bourn's deaths in 1936, the house was sold. Thankfully the next owners also came from wealth: Mr. William P. Roth and Mrs. Lurline Matson Roth (heiress to the Matson Navigation Company) were able to properly care for the property. In 1975, Mrs. Roth donated Filoli in its entirety to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and the estate is now both a California Historical Landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The estate operates as Filoli Center, and you can visit the house and gardens throughout the year.
Filoli Reception Room circa 1936
Filoli Reception Room now
Filoli Library
Filoli Dining Room
Filoli Kitchen
Filoli Ballroom circa 1927
Filoli Ballroom now
Filoli has appeared on both the big and small screens: it was an exterior location for scenes in Warren Beatty's 1978 film "Heaven Can Wait," it served as the Stanhope residence in the 1997 film "George of the Jungle" starring Brendan Fraser and, despite the fact that the show was set in Denver, Colorado, it was the home of the Carrington family on the 1980s ABC television series "Dynasty."
Just last year, in 2023, it hosted President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping for informal talks during the 2023 APEC summit in San Francisco.
Meeting in the Ballroom Photo: Brendan Smialowski AFP|Getty
During the winter holidays, Filoli is the location of a spectacular outdoor light display while the interiors are dressed for Christmas.
